Okay, so over the last year I have significantly improved my nutrition (e.g. no sugar, green smoothies every day, little meat, lots of beans and whole grains, etc.) and I have seriously increased my exercise volume. Although my workouts have been very sporadic, they still add up to more than the previous three years' workouts combined. In the last 3 1/2 weeks, however, my eating has been beyond healthy, and my workouts have been high quantity and high quality. And yet, even with all this, I still am at pretty close to the same weight I was at nine months ago. So what is the problem???? Seriously, the frustration and anger at my body this morning were overwhelming. Why can't I seem to drop this weight, even when I feel like I am doing everything right? Has anyone else experienced this?
Well, I'm guessing there are others out there with similar stories. I know I could conjecture that it has to do with my portion sizes, or eating too often, or eating not often enough, or eating at the wrong times of the day, or my ratio of carbs to protein to fat, or the toxins that my fat cells are holding onto and they just don't want to let them go because that would dump all this toxic waste (literally) into my body so they are holding on for dear life, or a million other things. But to tell you the truth, I have been down most of these roads, and I am still sitting here in the same 150-pound-plus body that I had nine months ago. Want to know what I really think? Well, I'm going to tell you because this is my blog and I can do what I want on my blog. (o; I really think this is a problem of limiting subconscious beliefs and energy blocks. I know this may sound kind of voo doo to many people, but I really believe it. I recently listened to an interview with an energy therapist, Carol Look, and she said that it is impossible to get thin if you feel fat. How I feel about my body and how I feel inside are what are dictating my weight and my level of fitness. I feel like a fat, unattractive woman, so that is exactly what my body is manifesting. Subconsciously I have some serious limiting beliefs about being fit and lean (one example being that it just doesn't feel safe to be lean and fit . . . and attractive to men . . . because men are unsafe) so of course my body wants to hold onto this weight because subconsciously that is exactly what I have been telling it to do. My body is responding to my subconscious programming, and it will continue to do so until I change that programming.
So, how do I change the programming? There are lots of different ways, but I am going with EFT (emotional freedom technique, aka tapping) for right now. This morning I did A LOT of tapping about these issues and frustrations I am having with my body, and it was a very emotional experience. At the end, however, I felt at peace, and I felt like I could love and appreciate my body just as it is, and I felt that I could forgive my body for not doing what I [consciously] wanted it to. I know it is doing the best it can.
The results of this EFT??? Short-term: peace and acceptance and charity. Long-term: time will tell.
The first law of thermodynamics [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_law_of_thermodynamics] means that, for a given time period, if calories consumed minus calories burned is a positive number mass will increase, and if calories consumed minus calories burned is a negative number mass will decrease. 100 calories of green smoothie = 100 calories of candy bar = 100 calories of beans and grains. The only difference is that some eating habits will tend to increase appetite while others will tend to suppress appetite. Eating fewer carbohydrates will usually help decrease appetite. Smoothies tend to have a lot of carbohydrates. EFT is useful only as a placebo. Good luck in achieving your goals!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comments. I agree with you that 100 calories is 100 calories, but I also believe that our bodies are not factories where a simple formula of calories in vs. calories out will determine weight. They are highly complex laboratories, and there is a lot more to nutrition and weight loss than just macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein). I choose green smoothies and other plant-based foods over candy bars because I want this laboratory to function optimally, and it can't do that without the proper vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc. And as to EFT being useful only as a placebo, I completely agree. The placebo effect is, after all, real, measurable results caused only by the power of the mind. That is what I am "tapping" into with EFT. (o:
ReplyDelete